Far Away For Far Too Long
by Yukihikari-chan
Summary: A photograph and a memory is all Lightning has to remember Serah after they were sent to different foster homes after the death of their parents. Ten years later, she is still searching for her when she meets a girl who just might be her long-lost sister. However, the girl claims that she's never had a sister. Can just a photo and memory prove that she's Lightning's sister? AU
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The sky was colored grey and a somber feeling rested in the air; the two complemented each other perfectly on a day like today. Joy was the last thing on peoples' minds as they moved out of a stone building, still drying their tears and dressed in black. Only ten minutes had passed and the building was already completely empty, well…almost. The two remaining souls were a pair little girls, sitting upon the steps that were as grey as the sky above them. The two were mirror images of each other: fair skin, ice-blue eyes, and cherry-blossom pink hair. The older sister absent-mindedly braided her little sister's straight hair as the wind ruffled her own slightly wavy hair. She was dressed in a knee-length black dress with cupped, fluttery sleeves and a silver sash tied around her waist with a perfect bow in the back. Her younger sister, who had just turned five, wore a dress similar to that of her sister's, but she wore a velvet shrug and the skirt was tea-length, adorned with tiny silver beads.

Two men in dark suits were talking in front of the sisters. The younger one hardly noticed them as she hummed a tune to herself and picked at the beads on her skirt but her elder sister by three years listened closely, only able to pick out meager bits of their conversation. She was almost sure they were talking about the two of them, judging by their constant glancing at the two. An unreadable expression was on both their faces as they chattered between each other. Her younger sister yawned and she embraced her tiny body, holding her close like a teddy bear.

The men in black exchanged cheerless agreements with each other before turning towards the two girls. Their parents had just died, every member of their extended family lived too far away, and there was no other option. They hated the idea of it, but again this was they only way of assuring these two sisters a safe childhood. One of them sighed deeply before he turned towards the pair of girls on the steps, the older one immediately directing her eyes filled with uncertainty at the men.

The two walked over to the girls and gestured for them to follow. The elder sibling instinctively took her sister's hand in her's and tagged along with the dark-suited men. Mother Nature's eyes watered along with the mens' and a light drizzle sprinkled over the peaceful city that stood hand-in-hand with the sea. One of the men gently picked up the younger sister, her tiny hand falling out of her sister's, and the other opened the door to his car, black as his suit. The older girl jumped into the car, expecting the other man to strap her sister in next to her but no. He was headed in the complete opposite direction!

"Wait! He has my sister!" The older girl protested as the man took the driver's seat.

The younger sister finally realized what was going on and began to bawl. The other man tried to console her, but it didn't work. He shed a tear himself as he strapped the child into his own car. The older of the two felt her heart stop as the car started.

"But he has my sister!" She yelled again, the first tears breaking through.

The younger sister cried even louder when she saw her sister's face in the back seat begin to move away. She struggled against the man's grip as he strapped her into the car seat, but the man obviously won. The little girl twisted her neck and met her sister's eyes for the last time. A single cry for each other escaped both of their throats.

"SERAH!"

"CLAIRE!"

* * *

**I should be writing my other fics, I know. This idea has been in my head for MONTHS now and I just had to get it out! I also have NO CLUE how to wrap up my other fic, _Guardian Angel II. _But yeah, I'll probably get another chapter of this baby up and put it on hold until I finish _Guardian Angel II _and _Do You Remember?_**  
**Annnnnnddddd...I love these two SO MUCH. I totally ship these two but not in an incest kinda way, in a super-great-amazing-sisterly-bond-that-formed-because-our-parents-died-and-we-have-to-look-out-for-each-other kinda way :D My same feeling with Vaan and Reks from Final Fantasy XII).  
**

**Anyway, enjoy!  
~Yukihikari-chan  
**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One:  
Lightning

**_October 3rd_**

The world around me shatters as my whole body jerks. My heart slammed into my ribcage repeatedly while my eyes scanned my surroundings. The grey world I previously inhabited was replaced by my tiny apartment's kitchen/living area. My science notes were scattered all over my lap and littered the floor in front of the couch I was resting on. I brushed a couple locks of hair that hung over my face, coated with cold sweat, and my fingers felt something wet on my cheek, a tear trail. Was I just…crying? My phone vibrated on the coffee table, almost hidden beneath a pile of notes. I reached forward and flipped open the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?" I sat myself upright and rolled my neck.

"I'm sorry for calling so late, dear. I just wanted to check in on you." The warm voice of my adoptive mom floated into my ears from Palumpolum.

"Oh! Hi mom," I glanced at my watch, 10:03 pm. "It's not too late to be calling, I'm usually still up around this time."

"You were never one to go to bed early, even as a kid," My mom joked as I stood up and quickly organized my jumbled notes strewn about my tiny living room before I headed off to my own room. "How are you?" She asked me.

"I'm good…" I grasped the framed photo on my nightstand and took a seat on my bed.

"You sound a little sad," She observed. "…It's Serah, isn't it?"

I didn't bother replying to her, she already knew it was the right answer. The picture resting in my hands was ten years old, taken only days before the accident that claimed both of my parents. My eight-year-old self smiled back at me along with little Serah, as if nothing in the world could go wrong. But of course, it did. Right after the funeral, the government sent us to different foster homes because they weren't able to keep us together.

Serah and I haven't seen each other once since that day.

A sigh blew through my lips. "Yes, today's her birthday. I think she's…fifteen now." I answered.

"Wow…it's impressive you still remember after ten years. But don't worry; I'm sure you'll meet her soon again enough. Keep your spirits up, Light." She reassured, using my younger brother's nickname for me.

I nodded to myself. "I will, I've been able to for the past ten years." My finger traced the picture's silver and black frame. "How are Hope and dad?"

"Bartholomew and Hope are doing well, Hope's enjoying high school and we're all still getting used to you not being here. Your father sometimes calls you down for dinner but always remembers about a minute later that you're in Eden." My mom giggled to herself. "Speaking of dinner, you're able to come this Friday, right?"

"Defiantly, yeah." I was probably the only student at Eden University who didn't go to parties on the weekends, which I have no problem with. Dinner with my family it loads better than getting drunk and/or high.

"Sounds great! I'll see you later this week. I love you!" My mom said.

"Love you too, mom. Goodnight." I replied and ended the call.

My eyes focused on the photo yet again, on my sister and I standing front and center. Serah's short, straight hair was ruffled by the wind along with my overly long wavy hair. Both of our eyes were brighter than polished crystals and Serah's round face was filled to the brim with joy. Our parents sat behind us, my mom's hand was on my shoulder and my dad's was on Serah's, and the plain white shirts Serah and I were wearing mirrored theirs. The faces in the picture were from another world, one miles away from my life right now; even the faces of my _real _parents seemed foreign to me.

After their deaths, I was fortunate enough to have been sent to a foster home within Bodhum but I had no clue where they sent Serah. I never really had any friends, sure, I talked to the other kids but they all had other friends who they preferred to hang out and eat with. Loneliness was no stranger to me, we were really good friends for a while until Nora and Bartholomew Estheim came into my life when I was nine. Why they chose me out of all the kids at the orphanage to adopt; I don't know. The only thing I was sure of was I that I was getting out of that building after nearly a year of having no one to talk to but loneliness.

Nora and Bartholomew already had a son, Hope, who is four years younger than I. He was only five when they adopted me and we didn't really talk or make human contact with each other until after I had been living with them for two weeks. What made me very happy with them was the fact that they almost never mentioned I was adopted; even though I looked nothing like any of them with my pink hair and blue eyes. But that didn't really matter to either of them; they still loved me just as much as they loved Hope, their true son. They treated me like I was truly their biological daughter and between having them as parents and growing up with Hope, I can easily say I wasn't a deprived child.

I shook my head and returned the photo to its rightful place on my nightstand as a yawn escaped my throat. After organizing my notes and trading in my clothes for a black tank top and sweatpants, I crawled into bed. The sounds of the city knocked against my window as I stared at the ceiling. Was Serah thinking about me right now, wondering where I was? Does she even remember me? Of course she does…I hope. I rolled over to face the photo, meeting Serah's photographed eyes and finally fell asleep.

* * *

"Mornin' sunshine!"

"Hi Fang." I returned her over-enthusiastic greeting as I took a seat, yawning.

The tiny kitchen in our apartment smelled of cinnamon muffins and coffee beans, both made by Fang obviously. She sat beside me and sipped her coffee, her hair perfectly tousled as usual, and her purple crystal necklace rested against her collarbone. I touched my own necklace, a lightning bolt that I wore every single day. My real mom had given it to me as a Christmas present during what didn't know was our last Christmas together as a whole family. I traced the outline of the necklace and sighed.

"I know! I swear science will be the death of me…" Fang ran a hand through her hair.

"What? I'm sorry I was…somewhere else." I said as Fang met my eyes.

"You alright? You seem a little tired." She observed, taking another sip of coffee.

"I am, I fell asleep studying last night and it wasn't even 10:00. My mom called and then I went to bed." I replied.

"Yeah, you were already asleep when I got back from the restaurant." Fang leaned back and stretched. "How is your mom anyway?"

Fang's been my best friend since seventh grade, after she accidentally broke my ankle while playing soccer in gym (I still have no clue how she did it even to this day). I guess she felt obligated to carry around my books for me to compensate for my injury and we got to know each other pretty well during that time. Eighth grade came and we were in almost all the same classes. By ninth grade, she was over at my house for whatever reason every other weekend. Her mom also switched jobs and ended up working with my mom, which threw us together even more; she may as well be my mom's second daughter.

So here we are now, six years later sharing an apartment and splitting the rent, our completely dysfunctional friendship still completely intact.

"Good, she misses me and Hope is now a freshman; I'm still trying to get used to that idea." I replied, my eyes on the window across the room.

"I still remember him when he was in fourth grade; it's been five years already?" Fang laughed to herself but then her tone changed. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem a little…off."

A deep sigh blew from my lips. "It was Serah's birthday yesterday, it's been almost ten years since I've seen her…I wonder how she is…"

Fang was silent for a couple moments. "I should've known; you always get a little depressed when this time rolls around. Do you have any plans today?" She stood up, sipping the last of her coffee.

"Other than work and going to the gym for a little, no." I replied.

"Good, you're coming with Vanille and I to dinner and to an improv comedy show after. No excuses." She emphasized the last couple words. Vanille was her dear fifteen-year-old cousin who was sometimes dragged along with us whenever Fang and I went out for the night or something. She can be a little _too_ cheery sometimes but besides that, she's that kind of person who's nice to be around; must be a common trait in the Oerba family.

I cracked a tiny smile at Fang's 'authority voice', as described by her. "Fine, I'll come."

"Great! Meet us at Taejin's Bar and Pub at 7 on the dot, don't you DARE be late." She pointed a finger at me before heading back to her room.

I retreat back to my own room and pull out a box from under my bed, replete with old photographs of my family. There's me holding baby Serah, another with my parents and I in the snow, one of Serah and I during our first Christmas together, and one with Serah and I at the beach only a couple months before our parents died. My eyes feel a little more damp than usual, but I don't cry; I rarely ever cry. My fingers jog around the edge of the photo as ribbons of sunlight dance through my window and the picture shines.

"Hey Serah," I say to the photo. "How are you doing?"

_I'm here without you baby, but you're still on my lonely mind  
I think about you baby, and I dream about you all the time  
I'm here without baby, but you're still with me in my dreams  
And tonight, it's only you and me_

_Here Without You by 3 Doors Down_

* * *

**Hey everyone, thanks for your lovely reviews! They make me happy :3 If you guys have any constructive criticism as well, don't be afraid to tell me via review or PM.  
I ship so many Lightning pairings it's not even funny XD The reason she and Fang share an apartment: for some reason I easily see these two having a dysfunctional friendship that somehow works, as said in the story. I also really like how Light looks out for Hope in the game and I thought it would be cute he was her lil' bro.  
Oh, the floor plan of Fang and Lightning's apartment is on my profile. Sorry that it's so tiny but it was almost a spitting image of what was in my head  
**

**Enjoy!  
~Yukihikari-chan  
**_  
_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:  
**Serah**

_**Saturday, October 3rd, nine years ago**_

"_What brings you here today Mr. and Mrs.…Young, is it?"_

_The lady tucked a stray strand of light brown hair behind her ear and nodded her head up and down as the man next to her put his arm around her. His hair was dark and he didn't have hair on his face like other men did._

"_My wife, Jera and I, have always wanted a child ever since we got married. We've tried to, but all three tries have been…unsuccessful." _

_Water came out of the lady's eyes and the man rubbed her back. Sister Christine grabbed the box of tissues from the corner of her desk and gave it to the man. The lady rubbed her eyes and straightened her back._

_"We've already decided that we want a little girl because the last time I got pregnant our baby was going to be a girl. But unfortunately I got very sick during the end of my pregnancy and so did she and I had a…stillbirth." The last word sounded scary and the lady's eyes watered again._

_Sister Christine came out from behind her desk and pats the lady on her back. I shrank back a little behind the doorframe playing with the beads on my shirt. I took a step back towards the playroom and a bored under my foot squeaked._

_"Serah, I know you've been there this whole time." Uh-oh, I'm in big trouble. "Come out here." Sister Christine said softly._

_My feet slowly walked me out from behind the doorframe and into the room of adults. The man and the lady smiled as Sister Christine kneeled down next to me and rubbed my shoulder._

_"This is Serah, one of the sweetest kids here. She's a little shy but a very charming girl once you get to know you a little. And what's today, Serah?" She asked me, smiling the whole time._

_"Today's my birthday, I'm six now." I said quietly, looking at the floor and looking back up at the couple._

_They turned towards each other and whispered for a little while before they looked at Sister Christine and I again._

_"May we have a look at her profile?" The man asked as he stood up from his chair._

_"Yes, of course." Sister Christine said back softly._

* * *

**Same day, nine years later**

"Happy birthday Serah!"

Vanille tackled me with a hug as mom placed a cake on the table-strawberry cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and drizzle of chocolate on top, my favorite. Dad ruffled my hair and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek as mom gently slid the cake in front of me. The drizzle of chocolate spelled out _Happy Birthday Serah! _in an elegant swirling font, obviously done by mom's steady hand, and 15 candle stood between _happy _and _birthday _glowing a vibrant orange. Vanille sat down in her seat again and mom kissed me on the cheek as well.

"Make a wish and blow out your candle, I'm can't wait to have some cake!" Dad urged, smiling.

Mom gently slapped him with a dishrag. " You'll get your cake Ryan, don't worry!"

I drew in a breath and blew out my candles; causing smoky ribbons to dance from the tip of the candle. Mom took out the candle, placed a pile of plates and forks beside the cake, and handed me a knife. I cut into the soft cake and gave mom a piece before giving Vanille, dad, and myself one. Creamy and sweet, just the way I like it.

"It's really good mom, thanks!" I gave her thumbs up as I continued to munch on my delicious cake.

"You're welcome, dear." Mom replied before she reached under the table and brought up two boxes wrapped in vivid multi-colored wrapping paper and a card. _Open this one first,_ she mouthed to me and tapped the smaller box.

I finished off my cheesecake, pushing the plate to the side, and grabbed the box. I held it up to my ear and shook it; something tapped against the top of the box. The wrapping paper was crumpled on the floor a couple seconds later and I held up the necklace inside the box. It had a simple silver plate charm with a Japanese Kanji engraved in black on one side and the word 'Family' on the other. I immediately clasped it around my neck and threw my arms around mom.

"Thank you, I love it!" I exclaimed.

Mom hugged me back and kissed my cheek again. "You're welcome, I thought you would like it."

"Open mine! Open mine!" Vanille jumped up like a five-year-old who just finished nine chocolate bars and slid the other brightly wrapped box towards me.

"Okay! Okay!" I laughed and gently shook it against my ear again. A thick object made a heavy bonk against the box.

I ripped off the wrapping paper and laid eyes on a white box covered with Sharpie doodles of unicorns, kittens, and sparkles; if I didn't know who this was from I would've figured it out pretty quick, this had Vanille written all over it. A smile grew on my face as opened the box; inside was a framed picture of the two of us at Freshman Formal last spring. I was wearing a deep purple strapless dress with a black sash tied around my waist and my hair tumbled past my shoulders in a straight curtain. Vanille had on a sea green one-shoulder dress with a beaded sash and her hair curled around her shoulders in its usual pigtails. The black frame sparkled and BEST FRIENDS was printed in silver around the picture.

"That is such a cute picture of you two! You have to put that on your dresser, Serah." Mom squealed.

"Exactly what I was planning to do," I hugged Vanille. "Thanks Vanille, it's really sweet."

"No problem! I-" Vanille stopped short and glanced at her watch; her eyes immediately grew four times larger. "Crap, my mom wanted me home ten minutes ago!" She jumped out of her seat and tugged on her shoes, hopping towards the front door at the same time.

"Thanks for inviting me over and the cake was really yummy !" Vanille had switched on her vocal chords to fast-forward. "Happy birthday Serah!" She called before zooming out the front door.

I thanked dad for the fifty dollars in my card, went straight to my room, and jumped into bed. It's been exactly nine years since Jera and Ryan Young adopted me, almost ten years since my biological parents were killed. I sighed deeply and stared at my ceiling; I can hardly remember what my last name was before I was adopted and my parents' faces. Sometimes I wonder what my life would've been like if my parents weren't killed, if they were still here.

I brush away the thought and roll onto my side, facing the wall now. I'm sure I was happy with my biological parents, but I'm also happy with my adoptive parents; the ones who have raised me for most of my life. I shut my eyes and burry myself deeper in my cozy cocoon of blankets, finally falling into the arms of sleep.

* * *

_**Saturday, October 11th** _

I grabbed my black messenger bag by the front door and strode out of my kitchen and into the cool autumn air, heading down the sidewalk. Only a handful of people were out today, but I'm complaining; weaving through strangers isn't a particularly enjoyable activity when you're trying to get somewhere. It's even wrose when you're trying to get somewhere on time. But I was in rush at all today and had nothing to do except to finish a lab report and an essay, which is what I would do when I got to the downtown café.

The teachers must have decided to make this past week kill-students-with-homework-week. Every night I was up until eleven doing homework and now I had a lab report and an essay to finish by Monday, joy. There go my plans to go see a movie this weekend.

My paced slowed as I neared the café and caught sight of the patio area, every table filled with people chatting away with one and other. I walked into the café itself and sure enough, every single table was occupied. I scanned the room for a table and adjusted the shoulder strap of my bag, hoping for at least an empty chair now. Nope, not even that. I sighed deeply; I guess I'll just head to the library across town and-

"You can sit here if you want."

The voice belonged to a girl who was sitting by herself at a table in the back with an extra chair that I failed to notice. Her hair was almost exactly the same shade of pink mine was except a little darker. It was spiked in the front and turned into gentle waves at the tips, only reaching a few inches past her shoulders. She wore a simple pair of jeans, combat boots, and a dark hoodie. A necklace with a lightning charm was draped around her neck and a giant textbook and notebook sat in front of her on the table. She couldn't be more than a year or two older than me.

"Oh! Uh, thanks." I slowly took a seat as the girl took a sip of her iced tea, the ice cubes clinking against the glass. "That's really nice of you."

She simply nodded back in response, her eyes on me; eyes the same color as mine, too.

"My name's Serah." I smiled at her and held out my hand.

A tiny smile formed on her lips. "I'm Lightning." She replied, shaking my hand.

_Woke up on the right side of the bed  
__What's up with this Prince song inside my head?  
__Hands up if you're down to get down tonight  
__Cause it's always a good time_

_Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care  
__Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere  
__I'm in if you're down to get down tonight  
__Cause it's always a good time_

_Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen_  
_  
_

**Author: Okay, I chose this song because it's a happy song and this chapter is full of happy things that happened to Serah. And I just like this song and it was playing on my Pandora when I was trying to find a song for this chapter. And when Vanille was saying she had to leave I typed it with no spaces but fanfiction decided to be a derp and not make it show up like that, you guys would've gotten the effect much better if it was like that.**

And yes the plot is kicking in rather quickly, but for a good reason. There's a lot more to this story than you think...Enjoy!  
~Yukihikari


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:  
**Lightning**

**_Same day_**

"My name's Serah." The girl smiled and held out her hand.

I couldn't help but smile back; she had the same name as my sister. "I'm Lightning." I shook her hand.

"Are you a senior?" Serah asked me as she pulled out a notebook and a laptop.

"No, freshman at Eden U." I replied, scribbling down a couple notes marked in my over-sized textbook. "I started the semester about a month ago."

"I'm a sophomore at Eden High and is it true? Are the freshman dorms there really small?" She asked the question that almost every incoming Eden U freshman asked.

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I live in an apartment with my friend Fang a couple blocks away."

Serah immediately looked up from her laptop at the mention of Fang's name. "Is her last name Oerba by any chance?"

I raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by her knowledge. "Yeah…how do you know her?" Now I was curious.

Serah giggled. "I'm not stalking you, don't worry! I'm best friends with her cousin, Vanille Oerba and I met Fang maybe a month or so ago."

"I saw a show with her and Vanille last week!" I laughed along with Serah.

"Small world!"

Our work lay on the table, forgotten, and we talked for what seemed like hours. It was almost like we were old friends catching up after not seeing each other for years, like what Fang and I would do. Maybe I just felt comfortable around her because she had the same name as my sister and even resembled her in so many ways. I wasn't known for making friends easily but she was just so kind and nice to be around her. Like Vanille and Fang, there was just something about her that I really liked (Vanille more than Fang in this case; I had plenty of other reasons for being friends with Fang other than just the aura gave off).

I didn't realize how long we had been talking until I noticed the sky was now tinted orange. My phone vibrated in my pocket, where a text from Fang was waiting.

_Sunshine where r u? You've been at the café for almost 2 hours!  
__And aren't u working tonight?_

The clock on my phone read 5:45 and my shift at the restaurant started at 6:30, crap.

_I'll be back in 10 min _I responded.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go," I said as I gathered up my textbook and notebook. "I have work tonight and Fang's bothering me to get back to our apartment."

Serah began to gather her things as well. "I should probably get home, too; dinner at my house is usually around 6. It was great meeting you and I'll hopefully run into you again."

"We'll probably see each other a lot thanks to Fang and Vanille, see you soon!" I waved to her and headed up the sidewalk towards the University.

"Bye!" Serah jogged in the opposite direction, uptown.

The sun was beginning to set over Eden and the neon lights of stores lining the streets were lighting up. People were rushing down the sidewalk to their homes and a steady stream of cars was doing the same on the street. Oddly, this is one of my favorite times of day when the city briefly slows down before the excitement and bustle of the nightlife kicks in. The sunset reflected off the glass windows until almost every store in the city had a miniature sunset its window.

I swam through a cluster of students leaving the University and jogged into my apartment building. Fang was and another woman were working above the stove when I came in. She never said anything about visitors…

"Mom?"

Mom turned around, her soft green eyes meeting mine. "Hi Claire, surprised to see me?" She smiled.

"Yeah…why are you in Eden?" Palumpolum was a good forty minutes to an hour away.

"Am I not allowed to visit my own daughter?" She leaned against the counter, still smiling. "I was here on a business meeting and I thought I might as well come by to say hello. It's also been a while since I've seen Fang."

"How long have you been here?" I dropped my bag on the couch and exchanged a quick hug with her.

"Twenty minutes, Fang told me you were out and I wanted to see you before your shift at the restaurant started." Mom took a seat at our tiny kitchen table. "How have you been?"

"Great, while I was at the café I was talking with a girl from the high school and her name was Serah…" I began, both mom and Fang leaning in a little closer towards me. "That why I was there for so long; I felt like she was an old friend who I haven't seen in a while. She's also friends with your cousin, Vanille." I nodded at Fang.

She tapped a wooden spoon against the stovetop, thinking to herself and silently clicked her tongue; a thinking habit she's had since we met. She snapped her fingers as a mental light bulb lit up.

"I've actually met her before, when I was spending the weekend with Vanille last month!" Fang laughed to herself and mom shook her head, laughing along with her.

"The world is so tiny, it's almost ridiculous." Mom said as Fang placed a bowl of her homemade stir-fry in front of us.

* * *

The rain fell in a torrential downpour over Bodhum, stirring up tiny waves tipped with white. My feet sank into the damp sand beneath me as they carried me along the water's edge, the waves licking at my bare feet. Rain tapped against my windbreaker as I silently continued to walk down the deserted beach in slow strides. Besides the gentle sounds of the rolling waves and the wind, it was completely silent.

I tilted my head up towards the sky and let the cool raindrops caress the skin on my face, not caring if my hair got wet. The tranquility here is just what I need; relaxation is something I can never seem to get enough of nowadays. Work and note taking provided by college usually interrupts me when I try to unwind. But with my luck, this isn't going to last very long.

And I was right.

The sound of heavy splashes out in the water reached my ears. I squinted over the horizon, looking past the rain and waves for the source of the sound. Nothing was in sight; maybe it was just a couple of fish fighting or something. That thought was thrown out when a scream pierced the quiet air. I waded into the water until it brushed against my calves and scanned the horizon again. Then I saw it; a little girl in the distance thrashing about violently, trying to keep her head above the water.

Without a second thought, I ran into the surf after the little girl. My Capri cargo pants and t-shirt hugged my body, soaked by the cold water around me. The girl struggled to tread water, but the ocean fought back pulling her under over and over again. I spat out a mouthful of salt water, the ocean fighting me, too. The rain blurred my vision as I struggled to keep my eyes on the girl, who was obviously growing tired. I swam towards her faster, despite my shaking muscles and saturated clothes. Her scream is what sent my heart into overdrive, a scream of desperation.

I bit my lower lip and slid under the surface, the icy water slapping me across the face. My body yelled at me to stop, to turn back but I trudged on, getting closer and closer to the girl with every stroke. I surfaced and coughed up water as the little girl's eyes met mine, eyes the same color as mine…

Serah.

She opened her mouth to scream, but a wave pulled her under before she could make a sound. I sucked in a breath and followed her under the surface. Everything around me was dark and Serah wasn't in sight. I swam down further, frantically searching for her, despite the cold biting at my skin. My chest grew tighter as every second passed without finding her. I urged my body to go deeper in hopes of finding her but I still couldn't spot her tiny body. Did she really go down that far?

The tightness of my chest, burning of my throat, and the black now lapping at my vision was too much for me to bear; I rushed back up to the surface. I treaded water and panned the horizon, coughing up salt water and trying to spot her pink hair. Nothing. Nothing at all.

"SERAH!"

* * *

My eyes shot open as I greedily sucked in breath after breath of oxygen. I wasn't in the ocean and I wasn't wet with salt water, but with cold sweat. Fang stood above me, her hands on my shoulders and her eyes filled with concern.

"Are you okay? I heard you tossing and turning and moaning in your sleep so I came in to make sure you were alright." She said.

I nodded quickly, still re-filling my lungs even though I was never underwater. "I'm fine; it was just a bad dream."

Fang took a seat on my bed as I sat up, waiting for the pounding against my ribs to abate. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand, 3:56 am. Subtle streaks of moonlight floated through the windows, casting ominous shadows across my room and Fang's eyes seemed darker, but still held worry.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked quietly.

"I was…in Bodhum, walking along the beach in the rain. It was just me and then I a saw a little girl struggling in the distance so I dove into the surf to save her," I described; Fang now had an unreadable expression on her face. "When I got closer I saw it was Serah and a wave pulled her under. I tried to swim down to save her but…I couldn't find her at all; she just disappeared."

Fang thought for a moment. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Serah reminds you of your sister, the sister you were separated from. I mean, she's basically a spitting image of you and it probably trigged that memory of you two being separated." She postulated.

"But this is different; usually when I think of Serah I dream of that day we were separated and me not being able to hold onto her hand. In this one, I almost saved her but then she fell out of my reach again…" I said, running my fingers through my hair.

"There's a theory that dreams sometimes try to tell people something…do you think it's true in this case?" Fang tapped her foot against the floor.

I shook my head immediately. "Dreams are just dreams, they're just random images produced by the brain at night. My recurring dream is just a memory I can't forget; a nightmare disorder." I replied sharply.

Fang stood up, yawning. "Well, I'm heading back to bed and you should try to get some more z's too; you've been looking tired a lot more lately." She turned and headed back to her room across the hall.

Sleep was something out of my reach for the rest of the night; I was too absorbed in my thoughts. There was nothing to do except count the slow minutes until morning.

**Tuesday, October 21st**

I found myself absent-mindedly pacing around the park after my classes had let out. Kids scampered about the playground in their warm jackets with their parents chasing them. The occasional biker or jogger passed me and I just went where my feet took me. I zipped up my hoodie a little more and adjusted my arm warmers, wishing I'd brought an actual jacket instead of five-year-old hoodie that had seen better days.

The wooden bridge came into view and I caught another girl already leaning against the railing, just staring at the sky. I walked towards her and made out the pink curls falling past her shoulders, it was Serah. A tiny smile grew across my face as I approached her. She turned towards me and smiled back, her eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

"Hey! What's up? I wasn't expecting to run into here." She greeted as I stood beside her, my hands buried in my pockets.

"Neither was I." I replied as Serah's cheery expression suddenly fell.

"Are you okay? You look really tired…" She asked.

I sighed and looked at the clouds swimming in the sky. "I am a little tired, I haven't really been sleeping well lately. I keep having this dream about my younger sister, I haven't seen her in ten years."

Serah raised an eyebrow. "How come? Was she kidnapped-"

"Our parents were killed in an accident ten years ago and the city of Bodhum couldn't keep us together and we were sent to different foster homes," I cut her off. "We wrote letters to each other but when we were adopted we lost contact with each other…" The words just fell out of my mouth; I only told this to someone if I really trusted them. I didn't even tell Fang until the end of eight grade, but she had already figured it out by then.

I met her eyes, now glazed over with tears. Crap, childhood sob story time to a friend you just met was a horrible idea. I opened my mouth to apologize but she held up her hand, stopping me.

"Just before my fifth birthday, October 3rd, my parents were also killed in an accident. I'm adopted too; I've been living with my adoptive parents for nine years now." She explained in possibly the most compassionate voice I've ever heard from someone outside my family (and Fang).

My shoulders relaxed as a weight fell off them. She knew what it was like too, to have barely known your own family; she's like me a lot more than I thought.

"You remind me of my sister, a lot actually," I said, nodding my head and tapping my foot against the wooden bridge. "That's a good thing."

Serah smiled gently. "Thanks, it's nice to know someone has been through the same thing as me."

A faint buzz sounded. Serah held up a finger and pulled out her phone, putting it up to her ear.

"Hello? Hey Vanille, you were supposed to meet me here fifteen minutes ago. What? When did you say you wanted to meet up at the mall?" She raised an eyebrow. "No, I didn't get your text…fine, I'll be there in a little bit, see ya." She closed her phone and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I gotta go before she decides to change the meeting spot again. Hold on," Serah pulled a notepad and a pen out of her purse and quickly scribbled down what looked like her number. "Here, call or text me soon; you, me, Vanille, and Fang have to hang out together sometime. Bye!"

She handed me the paper and shot down the pathway, giving me a quick wave without turning around. Well, nothing else to do; might as well head back to my apartment. Fang has been bothering me about not sleeping for a while so I might as well take a nap to shut her up.

With reluctance, I dragged myself back to my apartment and collapsed on my bed. My eyes were trained on the family portrait again as I hummed a tune to myself, probably a lullaby from when I was younger resurfacing from the depths of my mind. I felt my eyes beginning to close as my real mom's voice sang to me inside my head…when my dream from a couple weeks ago flew into my head.

I sat up and examined the photo of us again, focusing on Serah only. Her round baby face smiled with a single tooth missing and she was only a little more than half my height. Her hair held the same pink color and her eyes…I stared at them, stared deeper into the photograph. They were the exact same color as the older Serah I met in the café, but tons of people have the same color eyes; it was probably a coincidence we had the same…

I jumped off my bed and yanked out my box of photographs. I dug past the photos of the Estheim family and I, down to the photos of my biological family at the bottom and pulled out the first few my fingers touched. Serah still looked the same in all them but there was one particular photo that caught my eye, the one of all the whole family taken at Nautilus. Serah was leaning against the wall with her tied in a tiny side ponytail, like older Serah's was. Wait, was this…

Serah's words from earlier today jumped into my head:

_"Just before my fifth birthday, October 3rd, my parents were also killed in an accident. I'm adopted too; I've been living with my adoptive parents for nine years now."_

September 30, 2002 was the day they died. Their funeral was a few days later on October 4, the day after what older Serah said was her fifth birthday and the same day as my sister's. She had just turned five when our parents died and older Serah had the same story. She was a sophomore in high school, meaning she had to be about fifteen…

I wanted to smack myself across the face and kick myself. Why didn't I notice all the obvious consciences when I talked to her today? The striking appearance resemblances alone should've made me suspicious! Then again, I last saw her when she was five and she was now fifteen-I dropped the photos onto the ground and grabbed my phone off my nightstand, pulling Serah's number out of my pocket. My hand wouldn't stop shaking as I dialed her number and the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Serah, it's Lightning." I said quickly. "I need you to meet me at the café ASAP, there's something really important that I need to tell you!"

Serah was silent for a few moments as I heard the shuffle of papers. "I'll be there in ten minutes, I have to finish something."

"And if you have any pictures of yourself when you were younger, bring them." I threw on my coat, gathered up a few of the pictures on the floor, and shoved them in my pocket.

"Okay…" I could almost see Serah raising an eyebrow over the phone.

"I'll see you in a little bit, bye." I hung up and dashed out of my room.

I tugged on my shoes as my thoughts swirled around my head in a violent storm. Was this really happening? Have I finally found her after ten years?

"Why are you suddenly so jumpy?" Fang asked as I snatched an apartment key off the rack by the door.

It finally sunk under my skin as I said it. "I think I just found Serah."

_I found God, on the corner of first and Amistad  
__Where the west was all but one, all alone smoking his last cigarette  
__I said, "Where've you been?" He said. "Ask anything,"_

_Where were you, when everything was falling apart?  
__All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang  
__And all I needed was a call that never came  
__To the corner of first and Amistad…_

_Lost and insecure…  
__You found me, you found me  
__Lying on the floor…  
__Surrounded, surrounded_

_Why did you have to wait?  
__Where were you, where were you?  
__Just a little late…  
__You found me, you found me_

You Found Me by The Fray

* * *

**I have never written this much dramatic irony in my life, it's almost ridiculous...XD  
I wanted to throw out one more chapter before school starts and I get swamped with work. Hopefully my teachers will be nice for the first few weeks, hopefully being the key word.  
AND YES I LEFT YOU WITH ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! MUHAHAHAHA! :D**

**~Yukihikari-chan**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:  
**Serah**

_Same day_

I closed my phone and climbed off my bed, grabbing my shoulder bag off the bedpost and quickly flipped through the family photo album. Why Lightning needed to meet me barely two hours after we just saw each other, I had no idea. I didn't have any clue why I needed to bring old photos of myself either, unless were doing a photo swap for a laugh; that theory was obviously wrong judging by the rush in her voice. I grabbed two pictures from the family photo shoot my parents arranged after I was adopted and slid on my high-top converse.

My parents were still out and I scribbled a quick note and left it on the counter. I pulled on my jacket as a chill rustled in the air, warning the whole city that we may have an early winter. The last few rays of sunshine were disappearing over the horizon and the streetlights cast a pale yellow, almost eerie, hue onto the grey sidewalk. The café was nearly deserted, besides Lightning sitting at one of the outside tables tapping her foot against the stone ground and her fingers against the table restlessly. I slid into the seat across from her, still holding my pictures.

"Why do you need to see me? You sounded pretty urgent on the phone…" I asked.

Lightning had already laid out three photos on the table in front of me. "Take out your photos."

I obeyed her, laid out my two photos below hers, and she stared at me straight in the eyes, to the point where my skin crawled.

"You remember how I told you that I had a sister that was sent to a different home when my parents were killed?" Her voice was steady.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…" Where was she going with this?

She placed a hand on my shoulder and drew in a shaking breath. "I think you're…" She paused. "Just look at the photos."

I held up one of hers and one of mine, holding them side-by-side. One picture was what I assumed was a young Lightning with a woman who had the same pink hair as her and dark brown eyes and a man with black hair and bright crystal eyes; her parents most likely. There was another girl in the photo, a younger girl…me? I glanced at the photo of me with my own parents right after they adopted me and I looked at Lightning's family photo again. The two photos slipped from my fingers and back onto the table. I lifted my head to meet Lightning's eyes.

"That's…this is impossible…" My voice faltered to a whisper. "I-I never had a sister."

Lightning put a hand on my shoulder again, her eyes glassy. "Yes you did, her name was Claire Farron and she always took care of you and played with you…don't you remember?"

I looked at the older girl in the picture again, a younger Lightning (Claire, I guess?) stood beside me, smiling. Hypothetically, if I WAS her long-lost sister the faces of the couple behind would be my biological parents but they were complete strangers to me, their faces foreign and unfamiliar. I didn't recognize either of them one bit, or even myself.

"The nuns at the Orphanage told me that my parents were killed in an accident, they never said anything about me having a sister." I replied. "If I did have one she would've gone to the Orphanage with me."

"But I wasn't there because they couldn't keep us together and sent us to different homes! Don't you remember the men taking us to different cars, crying out for each other…you don't remember any of it?" She pleaded, her face masked with disappointment.

I shook my head, trembles beginning to ripple across my body. "No…I just met you, I've never seen you before in my life."

"You don't remember us playing together, me giving you a band-aid when you hurt yourself, or comforting you whenever there was a thunderstorm? Don't you remember us and our parents, the Farron family? Do you even remember Bodhum, the town where _**we **_grew up before _**our**_ parents died?" Lightning's voice was now coated with desperation. "You must remember something…"

A sigh of exasperation escape my lips as I snatched my photos off the table and stood up. "No! No! I was an only child before I was orphaned, no siblings! We had different parents and grew up, completely separate from each other!" I screamed as I stamped down the sidewalk, back to my house. "I'm not your sister!"

Lightning gathered her photos and ran after me. "You MUST remember something, I know you do! You can't lose your parents AND your sister in one week and not be somewhat emotionally traumatized or not remember a thing! You're Serah Farron, my younger sister!"

"I'm not your sister! I'm Serah Young and nobody else! You and I have never met each other before last week!" I yelled over my shoulder but Lightning continued walking after me. "If you were my sister, I'd remember!"

"But you ARE my sister! Serah just listen to me! I'll show you more-" Lightning began but I turned around and glared at her.

"I'm. Not. Your. Sister. Get that through your head!" I growled and ran down the sidewalk before she could say anything else. She didn't even bother chasing after me that time.

I didn't remember the run back to my house; I only remembered dashing upstairs to my room and collapsing on my bed, my heart pounding furiously against my ribs. My shaking fingers were white from gripping the photos to tightly. This is impossible, this has to be a dream; Lightning and I have NEVER met before so how can we be in the same photo? Maybe she's mistaking me for someone else…who am I kidding? That little girl in Lightning's photos _was _me but I don't recognize any of the faces with me in those photos, as if my face was photoshoped in. I'm the missing puzzle piece of Lightning's family that doesn't fit in with the picture.

My head had never been so full of questions, buzzing and pounding against the inside of my skull. I was still shaking, to the point where I could also feel my bed vibrate, and every last bit of moisture in my mouth had evaporated. I wanted to tell myself this was just a dream and I fell asleep working again, but I know I'm smack-dab in the middle of reality; as far away from a dream as you can get.

Was she really telling the truth? Did I really have a sister? The pictures are hard, concrete proof of her claim, but why was I denying it? I wracked my brain for memories of the two of us but the memory archives didn't have anything. Not even a mental picture of the two us when we were little. I had absolutly no memory of her before I met her last week. Nothing.

* * *

**_Monday, October 27th_**

Sleep was the gift I never received last night or for the entire week; there was no possible way I could have after what happened. The thought was too big to push out of my head. I had never even met Lightning until a few weeks ago, I'm 100% positive. Claire was also an unfamiliar name in my memories. The faces of 'our' parents were just pictures of strangers in my eyes. But in Lightning's eyes, she saw her own biological parents with me, her younger sister, by her side.

"Miss Farron!"

I quickly sat up, sleep leaving my eyes. Every pair of eyes in the classroom was on me, including Ms. Naabat's. Did I just…fall asleep in class? That's a first, a first I never would've expected from me.

"Y-Yes, m'am?" I straightened up, resisting a yawn.

"Did you enjoy your nap?" She narrowed her eyes at me from behind her glasses.

"I'm sorry, i-it won't happen again." I stuttered for the second time in less than a minute.

Ms. Naabat shot me one final glare and turned back to the board, continuing her lesson. I rubbed the last of the sleep from my eyes and absent-mindedly doodled in my notebook. Was this whole incident throwing me off that much? Well, it's not every day your friend confesses to you that you're long-lost siblings. For some people it's a dream come true but for me it was simply a jammed thought that couldn't be processed.

I abandoned my normal do homework in the library with Vanille routine and headed straight home after the final bell. My parents were still at work, as usual, and I sat down and did my homework all in one sitting. I wanted to keep myself busy; I wanted to elude that identity crisis coming towards me on the horizon, but it's winds were already stirring up. I watched re-runs of my favorite TV show, played Solitaire, and finally resumed my nap that Mrs. Naabat had interrupted today. Yeah it was just another day, just another normal week.

_Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz._

I yawned and crawled off my beanbag chair, the fuzzy blanket still draped around my shoulders, and grabbed my phone off my nightstand. Surprisingly, a text from Lightning was waiting. I raised an eyebrow; it's been nearly a week since her confession, a week of sleepless nights and confusing thoughts. I wanted to delete the text, delete this whole dilemma and pretend it never happened, but something good could also come out of this. What that something was, I didn't know what it could be or if it even existed. But that slight possibility definitely means a lot to Lightning; I clicked open the text.

_I'm really sorry about what happened last time we met. You're probably really confused but I know how we can clear this up. Come to my apartment at about 4:30 this Friday and we'll talk. It's in the tall white apartment complex a couple blocks away from Eden U, can't miss it_

Another text from Lightning popped up.

_Number 309_

Clear this up? How could you possibly clear up something like this through just talking? I stared blankly at the text and twirled a strand of pink around my finger. She was serious about her discovery that night and that disappointment in her eyes when I denied her claim wasn't forced. An apology, from me, would be vital after flying off the handle and yelling at her like I did. It also struck me that I needed answers to the countless questions that had been gathering in my head since that night. Maybe this would clear things up, maybe not. But it was defiantly worth giving a chance.

_Sounds good, I'll see you Friday_ I responded.

_Is this my past here before me?  
__Is this my story unfolding?  
__It's all here to discover, everything that I am_

_Can this be what I've been seeking?  
__All my life I've been waited for this  
__And now these memories, will they make me see more?_

_I want to know where I belong  
__I want to know where I came from  
__I want to know the reason why I'm here  
__The way I am, feeling the things I feel_

_I want to know the reason why  
__It will be hard but I must try  
__I got to understand why I'm here  
__The way I am, feeling the things I feel_

_Is this my family?  
__Can it really be them that I see?  
__My father and mother,  
__And in her arms can it really be me?_

Everything That I am by Phil Collins

* * *

**Sorry for such a long wait, school is being...well, school. I also got caught up with writing my other fic _Family__ Moments. _**

**Cliffhangers are so much fun, even though everyone gets pissed off at whoever's idea it was. The chapter is a little eh, but I haven't been at the top of my game lately and I really wanted to update this baby of mine. I swear, this is one of the best fanfiction ideas I've had in a while (at least I think so ^^') ****Constructive critisism is always good, I'm always lookin for way to improve! **

**Enjoy!  
~Yukihikari-chan**


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